I called you every night
by EnjoyTVShows
Summary: What would have happened if season 2 (and on) had never happened ? What if Mike and Eleven never reunited ? A view into Mike's life without his telekinetic girlfriend.


**What would have happened if season 2 (and on) had never happened ? What if Mike and Eleven never reunited ? A view into Mike's life without his telekinetic girlfriend.**

* * *

**I called you every night**

He calls her every night. Every night. He tells her about his day, his questions, his fears... He always ends his calls with "I wish you were here."

He tells her about the day he heard Lucas referring to him as Mike BWD. From the conversation, he figured out what it meant : Mike Before Will's Disappearance. That day, he learns that people around him have started referring to him as Mike BWD and AWD since early 1984. He also understands why Dustin and Lucas stopped mentioning El not long after that, and why Will stopped asking questions. That night he realizes that even though Will's disappearance greatly affected him and still does, he would not pick the same timeline to describe himself. To him, there is only Mike AEV (After El's Vanishing) that exists anymore. That night, his "I wish you were here" is hiccupped through quiet sobs.

He continues this routine every night. For 3 years. And then in sophomore year, after an evening spent working on a particularly ambitious science project at Dustin's house, he can't make it to his daily meeting in the blanket fort. He feels guilty when he goes to sleep on Dustin's bedroom floor and tells himself that he will talk twice as long in the Supercom the next day. And so he does.

But about 3 weeks later, he finds himself unable to call again. And as life and high school goes on, it happens more and more often. He still calls every week through junior year. When life gets busier in his senior year, he promises himself that he will call on every important occasion. And so he does : at homecoming, when he gets accepted at IU Bloomington, at prom and then finally at graduation. "I wish you could have been there El. Dustin couldn't stop crying ! His graduation gown was soaked... Oh a gown is like this long black dress that you put on during the ceremony to go get your diploma on the stage."

He always explains things he thinks she wouldn't know about. But now, at 18, he finds it more and more difficult to explain concepts from the life of a soon-to-be college student to who he remembers being a 12-year-old girl.

When he is really feeling down, he thinks that none of this matters anyway because she stopped existing when she was just that. A 12-year-old girl with no hair. A 12-year-old girl with superpowers. The 12-year-old girl who saved and changed his life forever. And the little voice at the back of his head reminds him that she could be listening, wherever she is.

When he first starts college, he finds himself calling more regularly again, excited and impressed by his new experiences. But one day, his roommate walks in on him explaining the concept of a campus to his walkie talkie. He doesn't hear the end of it for a week straight. He stops calling after that. He doesn't tell her about his first big party and the inevitable hangover that ensues. Months go by and he finds himself partying and drinking more and more.

Until the afternoon when he sees her on the opposite subway platform. Everything about her is different yet she looks exactly like he imagined she would. A train crosses between them as he yells her name and she is gone when he can see the platform again. That night, under a blanket on his bed, he vows to never stop calling again. "Promise" he whispers into the walkie talkie. And so he does.

He tells her about college life, his classes, his newfound passion for writing. He tells her about his first serious girlfriend. That night, he also confesses that she was and will always be his first love. The one he felt even before he knew what loving meant. When he meets his future wife, the first thing he does is tell El about her. How she is different and reminds him of her. How she makes him laugh and feel like Mike BWD.

But even if he truly loves her, he knows that she will never be El. So when she is walking down the aisle, he doesn't feel guilty when he wonders what the girl with superpowers would have looked like in that dress. Because he accepts it now : he will always be Mike AEV.

When his daughter is born, he is so proud to comm and announce that her middle name is El. And that night he ends his call with "I feel like a part of you is here".

In his older years, his wife finds the Supercom one night and wonders how and why he kept it working after all these years. Mike doesn't lie when he tells her that the walkie will always have a special place in his heart.

And when his last breath approaches, he makes his daughter swear that she will keep it with her. "Promise" she replies. And so she does.


End file.
